Sam's Visit

Sam was out for three weeks this summer.  We had a really great time and did a lot of activities.  Sam learned how to independently cook omelets this summer and  he made us breakfast everyday for two weeks.  Although I'm a little tired of omelets, I have to say, I miss making breakfast with him - he can really make a perfect omelet as evidenced in the photo.

Sam and I visited the library a couple times.  We all went to our favorite used bookstore - Under Charlies Covers - which Sam absolutely loved!  The store is full of shelves 8 feet high, and the floor is covered in piles of excess books that won't fit on the shelves - it is an absolutely amazing site, and more amazingly, very organized.

Sam and I visited my friend Joann at her pool, and Sam met many of the girls I knit with there.  They all coo'd over how handsome and intelligent he is.  He swam until he looked like a white raisin.

Sam and I took a trip up to Jemez with the intent of taking a river hike and having a picnic.  Unfortunately the mountain rains had flooded the river over hiking capacity, making the river unsafe to hike, so we made due with a long picnic full of cold hotdogs and good books.

Sam attended two weeks of AYSO Soccer Academy Day Camp in the Advanced Group winning a Bronze his first week, and a top score Gold his second week.  His skill set improved dramatically at camp and he had a lot of fun.  The camp also had a pool, so Sam was able to swim each day of camp as well (not bad for a desert in a drought!)

The weekend before Sam went home, Uncle Josh came for a visit.  He was treated to some of Sam's omelets and gave Sam a quick lesson in filled omelets.  We spent most of one day down at the park.  Sam showed off his soccer skills and picked up some very valuable one-on-one coaching from his uncle.  We played on the playground for a while once Sam had tired from practicing.  Sam really appreciated his time with Josh working on soccer skills.

Later that afternoon, Josh, Sam and his Mom played a round of Putt-Putt golf.  Josh took first in the Men's division, Sam took first in the under 30 division, and I handily took the women's trophy.  Later that evening there was an amazing Uno tournament that lasted a solid couple of hours.

Sam visited my very dear artist friend Jess in her studio one day for a one-on-one acrylic painting lesson.  Jess is a GREAT teacher.  She took time to set up an easel for Sam at the appropriate height, built a still life display for them to work from, taught him back painting, shading, highlighting, and color mixing techniques, working side by side to paint the same scene, step by step.  In the end he came home with a beautiful picture and a big smile.  He had a lot of fun with Jess in her studio.  I'm pretty sure she had fun too!

I've got a couple more pictures to share.  Here is Sam with some of his belated birthday gifts.  He truly loved everything he received.  We worked to send hand made thank you notes to everyone.  Those who sent money and gift cards - know that that money was spent on DS games, LOTS of books (we had to check the very heavy luggage back East!!), and some was put away in his long term savings account.

And finally, here is a picture of my very handsome son working intently on his painting.  I think this is a gorgeous portrait of him, even if he isn't smiling.  Jess has some fun pictures of us in the studio that I'll share as soon as I get copies.

Swatching... and the "Terrible Too's"

I spent most of today knitting swatches and playing with yarn.  Sometimes I really hate swatching.  I'm an Instant Gratification Knitter (IGK), which falls in stark contrast to my perfectionist nature, and generally makes my time spent swatching some sort spiritual battle.

Swatching is VERY important (still I hate it), especially when making any garment.  Knitting say a sweater in the wrong gauge will result in a garment with a bad case of the "Terrible Too's": Too long, too short, too tight, too loose, too drapey, too firm... Too's.  And I know this, and I've experienced this, and still I resist swatching.  Why you ask?  Instant Gratification.  I hate spending time knitting a square, washing and blocking it, only to discover that either my gauge is perfect and I could have skipped this step or that I have to repeat myself (perhaps more than - God forbid - twice!) burning more time and yarn.

But it's not only the IGK in me that hates it; it's the Perfectionist as well.  Today was a perfect example of this.  I'm working on a new design and I'm very excited about it (wooo hooo.... let's cast on! says IGK), but the yarn, a lovely Malabrigo, is variegated and therefore doesn't really fit my original design concept with a cabled panel, which, sadly, hides in the color changes.  Okay, so reworking the design requires a change in the overall fabric I'm creating, so now I need to swatch multiple textures to discover which works best with this particular yarn my heart is set on.  Fortunately, because I'm only working to find a texture I like, I'm not looking for actual gauge measurements yet and don't need to go so far as washing and blocking. Still, the Perfectionist demanded EIGHT texture swatches, and I will still need to knit additional swatches for gauge in order to do the necessary math for the design itself.

But, if I hadn't started with my swatches, I'd be fighting the Terrible Too's instead of typing to you.  The cable feature would have been too obscure, and the overall body would have been too busy with pooling and flashing, and I'd be sitting in a swamp surrounded by frogs of yarn and disappointment.

Swatch.  Simple Work Avoids Terrible Crafting Hell - ok, it's lame, but you get my point.  Comment with your creative S.W.A.T.C.H. acronym solutions - I'd love to see some other catchy phrases.

Upcoming Classes for Fall 2011!

I'm very excited to announce my Fall 2011 Class Schedule.  These classes will be available at Village Wools - 5916 Anaheim Ave. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113 - (505) 883-2919.

Knit Research & Rescue 

Session 1: Fridays, September 16, 23, and 30; 1-3pm

Session 2: Fridays, November 4, 11, and 18; 1-3pm


Learn Cables & Bobbles - Women's Knit Hat
Fridays, October 7, 14, and 21; 1-3pm

A not-so-green Green Bin Farm Report

John and I spent the morning fortifying the garden.  Haley, aka Satan's Monkey, continues to break in and dig up the few things that are growing, despite our training efforts and deterrent devices.  We added an additional 2 feet of height to the perimeter fencing - now a total of 5 feet tall.  It's beginning to look like a penitentiary.  She breaks in again, that may be exactly what it becomes.

Besides the dog, the drought has really taken its toll on our gardens.  We are yet to have measurable rain THIS YEAR.  There is the promise of monsoon season... due to start soon, like today, but alas, nothing yet. The raspberry plant is hurting... ok, looks dead.  I refuse to give up.  The cherry and pear trees continue to struggle, but at least they don't look dead yet.

We have been able to harvest peas.  So far its the only thing that has produced.  They've been delicious.  Our tomato plants have suddenly taken off and we are seeing flowers, but the plants are still quiet short - under 12" still.  We have one cucumber that has flowered.  Haley ate the budding cukes.  It is flowering again, so there is still hope.  We also replanted tomato and cuke seeds after the last attack - all the seedlings seem to be sprouting.  We still have some carrots and onions that survived doggie digging.  We planted 3 or 4 varieties of peppers this year and they are still tiny little seedlings, not even 1" tall.  No idea.  No discernible growth what-so-ever. Sweet potatoes are growing quiet well, but it'll be months yet before we know if they are producing.

Los Alamos Fire - Day 1 - Photo Credit John L'Heureux

Although forest fires continue to burn, the worst seems behind us... at least we aren't chocking on smoke any longer.  For about three weeks we didn't spend any time outside unless absolutely necessary.  Air quality was so bad we considered terrorist taping the windows.  Visibility was so bad it was often difficult to see more than 1/2 mile.  Weather has also been very hot.  With the smoke, we couldn't run the swamp cooler as it just drew the smoke indoors.  Finally now, the house is cool and smoke free.

Sam will be arriving Thursday.  He'll be attending soccer camp for two weeks this year.  He's really excited about it.  They have a pool at the soccer field, so he'll be getting in some swim time as well.   I'm hoping that the monsoons affect mainly the late afternoons so that he can fully enjoy the camp.  They have a cancellation policy for inclement weather, so he may end up spending some time in the nutrition office with me.  I'll be taking a week off from work for Sam's third week.  We don't have any firm plans yet, but I'm sure we'll figure out some fun things to do.

Upcoming Pattern and Mileage Milestone!

I've been hard at work on a new pattern - Kid Eating Monster Bacalava. I'm working this pattern up with sizing from Newborn to Adult and it will have instructions for any number of creative embellishments to really make your monster one-of-a-kind. This pattern is currently in the test knitting stage of development. I hope to have it launched and available early September - just in time for Halloween knitting.  It makes a wonderful instant costume.  It will also make an excellent helmet liner for skiers, with an added surprise for the lodge later.

And if you thought I'd be taking a break from knitting during the summer months... no way!  Today I updated my KnitMeter with projects I'd completed this month, adding .67 miles of knitting and discovered I had surpassed last year's mileage of 3.16. I'm actually really excited about this - I'm on schedule to double last year's mileage. Now you KNOW I'm obsessed!

Day 3 - Knit Research & Rescue - Success & Concluded

Our final class went wonderfully. We had an exciting lesson in lifelines, which was a real relief to everyone I scared last week with the correction of cables. The general consensus is that running lifelines is MUCH easier than dropping back cables, and I expect it is a technique they will each use. I demonstrated drilled lifelines, as well as "MacGyver" lifelines - do you have scotch tape and dental floss in your knitting toolbox? We were also able to work in an additional segment on weaving in. I really enjoyed teaching this class and am looking forward to teaching it again this fall. I had so much fun and will miss the girls!